Rights 4 Sale

It is deserving of a whole study by itself, but it is probably clear to most that communication is the most important ingredient in peoples’ relationships. 

Actions or things that stop or that block communication cause us to dislike the thing with which we can’t communicate.  A good example would be the tax code.  It is 7,500 pages long (if printed 60 lines to a page, which it isn’t) and there is probably not a CPA or tax attorney on earth that understands all of it.  The average citizen understands a fraction of a percent of the tax code and, guess what, doesn’t like it at all.

The same is true of the heath care bills.  They are 2,00o pages and people, even congress men and women, don’t know what’s in it.  It’s so complicated that the average citizen can’t communicate with it and, guess what, doesn’t like it at all.

There are many more examples.  Cap and Trade legislation.  Financial practices regarding complex investments.  Federal statutes.  They are all complex and hard to communicate with.

So, if you want people to dislike something, just be sure to block their communication in some way and they will not like it, won’t agree about it and will not understand it.

Someone can make a rational decision not to like or support something after learning about it, but the key word here is rational.  Open communication and people can make a self-determined, rational choice.  Cut communication and you guarantee that people will not like it.

In a sane, open and democratic society, those things that increase communication are good and those things that cut communication will cause us to succumb.

Often politicians say that something must be done and they need something else before they can do anything about it.

For example, there are numerous examples where someone is denied health care because of this problem or that loophole and the solution is an all-encompassing heath care bill that creates sweeping changes in all health care in order to solve some of these problems and loopholes.

In this case, the politician says that we need the health care bill in order to solve the problem.  We have to have something in order to do something.

But, a common sense question would be, “Why not just solve the problem by changing the rule or regulation?”  Why not change the health care provision so that the person is not denied coverage.  It doesn’t take a new health care bill to effect a change.

It’s the same in a number of areas.  Laws are on the books that would solve a lot of problems if law enforcement or prosecution would just enforce them.  We don’t need a new law before we can do something.  Just follow the laws we already have.  Borders and immigration.  Guns and their misuse. 

Quite often, the request for new laws means additional restrictions and a lessening of liberty by having the new law go further than the existing law in order to solve the “problem”.

So, be suspicious when you hear that we need the have this in order to solve that.  There is usually a simpler solution or even an existing solution that is being ignored.

One of the most successful ways of getting people to believe a false statement is to mix in a half truth.

If you take any information and mix in one fact that people know is true, they are more likely to think the whole statement is true. 

A good example is the current argument over health care.  Proponents of health care reform say that you can keep your current plan if you are happy with your current plan or your doctor.  Meanwhile, most of the plans on the table say that you can keep your current plan if you don’t make any changes to it.  You may keep your health care is you are fired or change jobs, but you will transition to a federal program.

So, there is an element of truth to the statement.  But, if you make ANY change to your plan, you are transferred to a federal plan.  That’s the part that is parsed around.

It sounds nice and is, in a very limited sense, true.  If you like your plan or your doctor, you will be able to keep them.  A more accurate statement would be; as long as you make no/even the slightest changes to your plan, you can keep it.  Make the slightest change and you will be transferred to a federal government plan.

Use a little truth when you want to pull the wool over their eyes.  It really works.  If the half truth (untruth) gets exposed, then find another point of truth and weave it into the story and continue.